It began on December 4, 2009 … my first Christmas card arrived (and it’s always the one from my Classic Freedom friend in Cleveland – checklist maker extraordinaire). I too am a Classic Freedom (all about tradition and getting things done) but I am usually 2-3 weeks behind her. Hey just because people are the same Pixie type doesn’t mean we are carbon copies. Back to my point … The onslaught of mail is here & building. Below is how to deal by type.

Before I met my husband, I let my holiday cards pile up in my mail bowl after I opened them and smiled at the gesture of someone sending me a holiday greeting (I was just too busy with work to deal). Then my husband (also a Classic Freedom) moved in and he put them up on every single surface in our living room. It drove me batty but it made him happy to see them all out. Today’s tips are some happy and more aesthetically pleasing compromises between our two habits.

The first idea is to hang ribbon up and staple cards to the ribbons as they arrive. When hanging the ribbon, flank two beside a doorway or archway or if they’re by themselves on a wall, think in threes. For ribbon, try Jo-Ann Fabrics for satin or grosgrain or see if you’ve got stuff on hand to do the job. This is fairly easy for all types to do. Organics often instinctively do this with theirs.

Another idea (or done in conjunction with the ribbon idea since we all get a lot of cards these days) is to put out an attractive large bowl on your coffee table to place the cards (no envelopes or other random mail) for people to sift through when lolling around on one of the various holidays this season. I think the bowl is probably the easiest solution for Funs & Classics. Or you could tweak my husband’s idea of putting them all out on every surface and highlighting as many as will fit on your mantle (or buffet) with a couple of candles in tall holders. I think this is actually what our mom, Organic Structure, did until she started doing garlands on our mantle and it’s something I’ve seen Smarts do as well.

Good for All Types